Jump on over, maybe he will write you a rec!

 

Yes but that seniority progression is still happening at other airlines. Yes, the few years post COVID was a rocket ship everywhere. I don’t expect that here. But everywhere else is growing. I even have friends at SWA that got hired the exact same month I did and are at 50% in base, with the company following through on hiring hundreds this year- and this is one of the slower places. Meanwhile, I’m moving backwards in the junior base (where I live) with literally no inclination as to when/if this place will ever meaningfully hire. It goes beyond painful schedule wise; it’s literally having to work a ton extra as an FO to attain a desirable lifestyle in a HCOL metro. Contract needs immense value added for this. Learning of all the missed opportunities here prior to my tenure just blows my mind.

 

They’ll never admit it. Even though it’s painfully obvious. Next they’ll either accuse you of complaining. Then if you point out an example of a friend at another airline progressing while you’re going backwards, then they’ll demand you leave for that airline. They even think they have a monopoly on friends at other airlines, lol.

Even if we had replaced the number of captains that have retired in the last 2-3 years, there would be some movement but we are shrinking.

 

I am complaining. We all should be. That complaint should not be conflated with the fact that I am a pilot at a major US airline and have a job better than 98% of the US public, but we all need to be comparing apples to apples.

 

That’s the problem with using a single person as an example. New hires at SWA are forced out to BWI currently and sitting there for over a year. My buddy upgraded in OAK (after 9 years) which used to be the junior base where he lives and was forced out after about 6 months. Of course somebody somewhere has it great because they happen to live somewhere where seniority progression is going great or they’re commuting. Yes we have stagnation right now. If you got hired right before the door blew out I’m sure it sucks. Things will move again in the future. It doesn’t help that we are much smaller and have way fewer bases than our peers. Hopefully that changes.

 

Fair comparison. You actually described the exact scenario my buddies at WN are in. What about the rest of the leaders in the industry? This would be a harder argument to make if the company was moving the contract forward and eager to offer industry leading narrow body compensation and QOL. Even in OAK at WN, my friend always seems to be on vacation while I’m grinding away. At the end of the year we compare w2’s and they’re the same, only he actually had time off to travel the world, to have long weekends at home pursuing his hobbies and interests. I was picking up. Let’s stop defending, justifying and instead unify, and move this forward so we can all live better.

 

See, you know the script. It is almost as if your inner dialogue has played out right in front of you.

You are complaining, that is all you do...

You upgraded years ago and are doing just fine. Moaning on APC does nothing. Is this cathartic to you? You are miserable, you make others miserable, so just leave to somewhere that will make you happy. Do it for yourself, do it for everyone around you.

 

Combination of stuff.

1) Retirements, we don't have any. Industry demographics across airlines have been well known for decades.

2) Boeing.

3) Mergers. 80 VX planes went away and that's still impacting folks in CA. HA SLI hasn't hit yet, but the company is already looking at overlap... growth that *might* have otherwise happened at AS is likely on wait-and-see pending fleet consolidation.

4) AS is inherently pretty conservative and cautious, although the current bosses clearly recognize the need to get larger. But organic growth is hard (limited gates, slots, and airplane delivery slots industry wide).

Some of this you should have known before you came here. Even after 2 & 4 reared their heads, you still had time to leave for greener pastures. Although I will say that big three are pretty good at sniffing out applicants who carry a lot of angst around... better figure out how to smooth that over before you interview (go read the post in the DL forum for an example).

 

The “you should have known better” defense for the company is getting tiresome. But sure let’s go with that, even more reason we need an absolutely killer contract, to make up for the worst scheduling and career progression at any “legacy”.

 

No, what is getting tiresome is the utter shock people have at Alaska, doing Alaska things. THAT is what is tiresome. A contract won't fix movement. A contract won't make more retirements. A contract doesn't make airplanes appear out of thin air. A contract doesn't fix the headwinds that are really starting to press everyone. SWA just canceled interviews, from what I hear. Oil is not getting cheaper.

I think everyone agrees that we need a knockout, home run contract. But we need that and want that, every time...